Ever since the disappointing main event between Anderson Silva and Patrick Cote there's been a lot of talk about what's next for the middleweight champ.
Expectations are that Anderson finally broke out as a PPV draw. MMA Payout estimates excellent numbers for UFC 90:
MMAPayout.com has learned that Countdown to UFC 90 drew 796,000 viewers on Spike TV last Thursday. That number is good enough to make it the most watched Countdown show of the year and believed to be the most watched in the history of the program.
Based on that number, MMAPayout.com projects that UFC 90 will draw 626,839 buys. The formula used to project pay-per-view buys based on countdown viewership has been remarkably accurate this year, however, a number that high would shock the MMA industry.
Of course as Fightlinker points out, the let down of a main event is going to leave many of those fans with a bad taste in their mouth:
It’s pretty ironic that the UFC had to convince people that Anderson Silva was the man, only to have his first really successful PPV tank with the most FUBAR main event in recent history. Suffice to say, this was not not a positive step forward for the sport, the UFC, or Anderson Silva.
Silva wants to get back in the cage ASAP, maybe even as soon as UFC 91. The most exciting speculation has been a Chuck Liddell match. That's very unlikely for Nov 15, but would be a huge pay day for both fighters.
Unfortunately looks like Dana White isn't keen on the idea. From Kevin Iole:
As I said earlier, I would hope a Liddell fight is made soon, but when my colleague, Dan Wetzel, and I asked White that question almost simultaneously, White seemed to laugh it off and said he didn’t know. He didn’t seem all that interested. I had talked with him about it in a private phone conversation about 10 days earlier and he was no more interested in it then. I’m not saying it won’t happen, just that Dana doesn’t seem enthused by the idea.
As for Chuck, he just wants to fight.
I can see where Dana is reluctant to put Liddell in the ring with someone as dangerous as Anderson Silva, but lets face it, both guys are at a point in their career where they need big fights NOW.
Liddell's not at all likely to contend for the LHW title again. Silva is threatening to retire as early as 2010.
Let's do it Dana. What are you afraid of?